Trying to figure out the how the different components for the fees in the Cost of Attendance work.
I would think only the Fees and tuition & Housing and Meals would be payable for each Semester, correct?
Are the components such as Books & supplies, Travel expenses, Misc expenses and Loan fees actually payable to the college as well? Or are they just typical estimates that would vary for each student?
For Meals, there are typically different plans available, so which one does the COA cover? Would the actual amount vary based on which plan is picked?
Which components are covered for Loans (Federal or Private)? Is it only the Tuition amount that is paid to the college ? Can any of the other components be included for Loans?
You got it right that they are estimates and these are expenses you have some control over. Books can be bought used or can be rented which can substantially lower costs from buying new. Travel also can vary depending on how often your kids returns home and how much they spend to do so. Misc expenses are basic cost of living like buying toothpaste and doing laundry and going out for the occasional pizza. Some kids spend a lot, others are much more frugal.
Iām not sure about the loan fees or dining plan questions.
Genuinely canāt believe how substandard the entire Pitt application and admissions process is! Compared to the schools where comparable students apply and attend, it falls so far below expectations that my son was turned off long before he received a decision. To top it off, he received his decision today - no letter or email, just a post with Accept and Decline buttons. AND the admit was for another campus - but the only reason I knew that was from this forum! It just said āUPGā next to the major. Not clear at all that that means an entirely different school - with a graduation rate of 35%. Shambles.
in Pittās defense, the rolling admissions thing is awesome and you can have an acceptance before senior year even starts. thatās worth all the pain of their portal.
I would argue that your student would have gotten the normal portal letter in a day or so, but because of CC you were aware of a backdoor tipoff. The letter will have the explicit information, and the backdoor, non-publicized portal indicator was not meant to be the primary source of information.
Their personalized admission video is actually so cool! Too bad the merit given for my son accepted into their honors college probably wonāt be enough. We must likely will have to give up that spot.
Iāll forever be grateful to Pitt for their rolling admissions and making this process less stressful for my family. My son applied early October and checked the portal everyday until he found what looked like an acceptance on there. It was followed the next day by an email and a few days later an acceptance in the mail. I know the process hasnāt been easy for all but I think itās key to apply early. FWIW we found out his Penn State acceptance by receiving it in the post. That was so exciting and better than finding out in a portal.
I still have S25 at home, and weve already discussed that heāll need to have his application in for the first week of August, lol. True. He chuckled when I said, āListen to meā
I tell everyone I know with a high schooler to do this. Apply to Pitt in August. Itās really dumb not to. For some kids itās the only school they even need to apply to. I actually told my kid to just stop after she got in to Pitt and avoid the whole admissions process but she wanted play the game.
If you attend an admissions event, Pitt admissions officers will tell you to submit an application by early September. To them, itās a demonstration of interest, and those applications make it in before they get smacked with a huge influx that starts by October. Our guidance counselor tells students to apply in August, too.
Agree. D23 is my first kid. I was unaware of applying before October/November. During my visit, I learned that I cannot wait till Novemberā¦ rushed the application and got the acceptance in Sept
Our HS recommended applying for 4 to 6 colleges, but my student wanted to apply to only 4 colleges (2 safe + 2 reach). I have seen students apply to 10+ colleges, and was nervous about applying only to 4 colleges. Pittās early admission helped me calm down and helped save some money+time. Their web site may have a few problems, but my experience with the admissions team is very positive.
Thank you! She is really honored to have received it and is also very thankful. She met some of her fellow candidates during interview weekend. She felt they all were excellent students and very deserving humans so she knows she was very fortunate to be selected.
